


Long Time Since

by YumeArashi



Category: GetBackers
Genre: Angst, M/M, Reconciliation, Sappy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-19
Updated: 2013-01-19
Packaged: 2017-11-26 01:27:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/645012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YumeArashi/pseuds/YumeArashi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Mugenjou arc, Jubei seeks out Kazuki to ask him some questions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long Time Since

Kazuki Fuchoin looked out his window at the pouring rain and sighed.  It had been raining all day, and he’d really wanted to get out of the house for a bit.  Ever since he’d gotten back from Mugenjou, his modest apartment seemed smaller than usual, and somehow closed-in.  He’d waited patiently for the rain to let up, working on this or that to keep his mind off his growing restlessness, but now it was evening and the temperature would soon be dropping to an uncomfortable chill.  Resignedly, he let the curtain fall back across the window and went for his jacket.  If he was going for a walk, he’d better leave now.

*****

“Oi, Jubei, would you quit with the pacing already?  You’re making us nuts.”

Jubei Kakei paused in his restless rounds to glare at his ponytailed friend.  Across the room, his sister shook her head.

“Quit glaring at Emishi, Jubei.  He’s right, you’ve been fidgety for the last few weeks, and that’s not like you.  What’s bothering you?”

“Nothing’s bothering me.”

Emishi laughed.  “You always were a bad liar.”

“Shut up.”

The youngest member of the group, who until now had been silent, spoke up.  “Does it have anything to do with Kazuki-san?”

“No.”  The answer came a little too quickly.  “I had some things I wanted to ask him and we didn’t have time for it, but that’s all.”  Jubei had forgiven Makube X for setting him against his old friend, but the boy still felt bad about it sometimes.

“Well, why not go find him and ask?  We know he’s still in the city, and you’re not confined to Mugenjou.  He shouldn’t be that hard to find.”

Jubei scowled.  “Why should I go looking for him when he’s the one that left?”

Sakura rolled her eyes.  “Because sitting around here, sulking and being unpleasant to the rest of us, is not going to get you any answers.”

“Fine.”  With a final ferocious glare at his sister, Jubei turned to stalk out of the room.

*****

Some hours later, Kazuki had almost managed to talk himself into going back to his apartment.  He’d stopped by the Honky Tonk and had a long chat with Ban and Ginji, and that had helped, and yet he still didn’t feel quite like going home just yet.  But it was getting late enough that most places were starting to close, and he didn’t really want to wander aimlessly around in the rain.  He was turning to head back when he caught sight of a familiar figure less than a block away.

*****

Some hours later, Jubei had almost managed to convince himself that he was never going to find Kazuki without help.  As reluctant as he was to go back, swallow his pride, and ask for help, he had to admit that without being able to see where he was going,  he’d basically spent the last few hours wandering aimlessly around in the rain.  He was about to turn back when he heard a familiar voice.

“Jubei?”

*****

At first, the only sound in the apartment was the soft chiming of Kazuki’s bells as he made tea for himself and his visitor.  He’d invited Jubei back to his apartment, of course - it was fairly nearby and a welcome shelter from the relentless rain.

“Here’s your towel.”

Kazuki looked up from his task, smiling as he saw Jubei in the doorway of the kitchen, hair slightly rumpled from being towel-dried, and his damp T-shirt stuck to his chest.

“Thank you.  You’re sure you don’t want to borrow a dry shirt?”

“If I recall your fashion sense correctly, I think your shirts would look a little odd on me.”

A soft chuckle.  “I suppose they might, at that.”

“My shirt will dry fast enough...but thank you.”

“Any time.  Your jacket was soaked through, so I hung it in the bathroom to dry.”  The whistle of the teapot drew his attention briefly.  “The tea is ready.  Shall we go into the other room?”

“Aa.”

The two young men settled in the comfortable living room, and Kazuki found himself searching for something to say.  Jubei had never been one for idle conversation, but somehow the silence was awkward in a way it never had been before.

“You must have been out for hours, to get that wet.  You’ll be lucky if you don’t catch cold.  What were you doing wandering around in the rain like that?”

“Looking for you.”

A small hesitation.  “Well, then, it’s a good thing we ran into each other, ne?” 

“We need to talk.”

Kazuki set his teacup down with a quiet sigh.  “Aa, I suppose we did leave a few things rather unresolved, didn’t we?  Too busy trying to prevent the end of the world, as I recall.”

A faint smile.  “When we weren’t trying to kill each other.”

Wry laughter.  “Ah, yes, I’d almost forgotten that part.”

“Did you?”

Something in the other’s face stopped the light-hearted reply on Kazuki’s lips.  He swallowed and answered softly.  “Yes, I did.”  When his friend made no reply to this, he offered, “It’s good to see you again.  Really see you, that is, not...”

“Not just run into each other randomly and nearly fight to the death?”  There was no smile accompanying the words this time.

“Jubei, I...”

“Why did you leave?”

Thrown off by the sudden change in topic, Kazuki hesitated a little before replying.  “I left because I had a lead on information about the attack on my family.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.  Why did you leave without saying anything?  I would have gone with you, you know that.”

“I know.  That why I didn’t say anything.  Because Sakura wanted to stay in Mugenjou and I knew you wanted to be with your sister.  I didn’t want to force you to choose between me and her.  I didn’t want you to end up making a choice you might regret.”

“So you gave me no choice at all?”

No reply.

“I thought I was your best friend.  I was born to protect you, remember?  Even if I forgot that, and paid the price for it, it’s still true.”

A sad smile.  “Do you still believe that?”

Silence for a moment, then, “I suppose you’re right, you don’t need protecting.  You never did, did you?  You don’t need me and you never have.”  Jubei abruptly stood.  “I see it was a mistake coming here.  I apologize for bothering you; it won’t happen again.”

“Wait!”  The cry came before he could take a single step towards the door, accompanied by a hand on his arm.  Angry and hurt though he was, the pain in his friend’s voice made him pause. 

“That isn’t what I meant!  Please, Jubei, don’t leave.  I do need you.  You’re still my best friend.  I missed you.  Please...”

“How can you say that?  You left!”

“I did what I thought was best for you!”

“What was best for me?  How can you even think that?  Can you even imagine how it felt, waking up one day and you just weren’t there?  No note, no explanation, not even a goodbye?”

“Jubei...”

“And now you say you’ve missed me?  All that time that you never once came back, never once made any contact at all.  And yet, you want to act as if nothing has changed.”

“Jubei, I’m sorry!  I made a mistake and I’m sorry...”  Something in the soft voice wasn’t quite right, and when Jubei touched his friend’s cheek, his fingertips came away damp.  His anger quickly vanished, replaced by remorse, and he pulled the slender man into a gentle embrace.

“Don’t cry, Kazuki.  I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be angry with you.  Didn’t I tell you I wasn’t worth crying over?  Please don’t...”

“No, you have every right to be angry, what I did was wrong.  I thought I was doing the right thing, but it was a mistake.  I never wanted to hurt you, please believe that.”

“It's all right, I believe you.  I know you never would have wanted to hurt me.  We all make mistakes.”

“Can...can you ever forgive me?”

“Of course I forgive you.”  At the gentle words, Kazuki relaxed against his friend.  It surprised him a little to realize just how much he’d needed to hear those words.

“I was afraid you might not be able to.  That’s why I never made any attempt to contact you.  I couldn’t face you knowing how much I must have hurt you.”  A wry smile briefly twisted his lips.  “So instead of facing up to my mistake and trying to fix things, I just made it worse.”

Jubei shrugged.  “Maybe so.  But I forgave you anyway, and now it’s in the past.  As long as it doesn’t happen again - if you disappear on me again, I might have to be very angry.”  There was a playful smile on his face as he said it, but the light tone didn’t quite hide the seriousness of his words.

Kazuki shook his head, the bells in his hair ringing wildly.  “Never!  I could never leave you again.”  His arms tightened around his friend.  “It was the hardest thing I ever did.  Ever since I left, I haven’t been able to be happy.  A piece of me has been missing, and I’ve felt so empty.”  He looked up at his friend, understanding beginning to flower in his heart.  “Because I didn’t have you.”

A soft breath, not quite a gasp, from the taller man, then gentle hands were tilting his face upwards, and Kazuki closed his eyes as Jubei brought their lips together in a first tender, tentative kiss.  Everything fell into place then, and he could only wonder that he’d never seen it before.

“Kazuki, I love you.  I have for a long time.”

“I know.  I think some part of me always knew, even when I never really saw it.”

“Was that why you left?”

“Maybe.  But if it was, I didn’t even know it myself.”

“It’s all right if you don’t love me, you know.  As long as I can be near you and protect you, that’s all I ask.”

Kazuki felt his heart twist at the quiet sadness in the deep voice, and shook his head again.  “I took you for granted once, and we both suffered so much because of it.  I will never again forget what you mean to me.  We belong together.  I do love you, Jubei.”

As he watched the joy dawning in his soul mate's face and felt strong arms tighten around him, Kazuki realized there was no place he’d rather be.

 

 


End file.
